


A Change of Fate

by NovaButterfly



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-26 18:40:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14408163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NovaButterfly/pseuds/NovaButterfly
Summary: Star Butterfly, princess of the Kingdom of the Moon. Marco, her best friend and right-hand knight. Tom, prince of the Kingdom of Fire and Star's fiance. Star would do anything to get out of a marriage that will form an alliance between the two kingdoms but she can't change her fate without also changing the fate of those around her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was trying to wait a little longer to post this cause I just finished Seeing Double a few days ago but I couldn't wait! Here's my new Tomco series with hopefully less angst and more humor than the last! Also working title, may change if I can come up with something better.

Star Butterfly, princess of the Kingdom of the Moon. Marco, her best friend and right-hand knight. The two were inseparable from a young age and had grown up together. They knew everything about each other and could read each other’s facial expressions without having to say a word. So, when Marco noticed Star’s lips close tight and her back straighten, he knew it was time to get her out of the banquet hall.

Tom, prince of the Kingdom of Fire, was visiting. He had visited Star many times in the past. Those visits usually consisted of him talking to nobody but her, and her hiding out from him whenever she could escape. This visit, however, was much, much different that those of the past for this visit was more than just that. Tom had come to retrieve Star and take her home with him.

The two had been engaged since they were small. An alliance was to be made between the two kingdoms in the form of a marriage. As soon as the princess turned eighteen, she would leave for the Kingdom of Fire to wed the prince and become Queen and King of both kingdoms. Well, as soon as Star’s parents bit the dust anyway.

Star’s dislike for prince Tom was no secret to anyone. Except maybe him. He seemed blinded by love, even though she treated him like garbage and ignored most of what he said. Marco, however, heard all the time about how awful he was. He’s a snake, a dork, full of himself and completely annoying in every possible way. Star did not want to marry the prince and she pleaded with her parents that very morning before his arrival to change their minds or have another child that could marry him instead.

“Please, please, please! He’s so terrible and annoying! I don’t want to marry him! Can’t we just sign a treaty or something and be done with it?” Star pleaded.

“Enough, Star. We’ve heard your complaints numerous times and it’s time you give up. I was married to your father without even meeting him before the wedding day. At least you know the man you’re to marry.” Her mother said, waving off her daughter’s words.

“Why must we be forced to marry anyone against our will? Shouldn’t we marry for love?”

“We are royals, my dear. We don’t have that luxury. You will grow to love him, just as I grew to love your father.”

“Dad, talk to her. Tell her it’s a bad idea!”

“Now, Star you know I can’t change her mind. Besides, if it wasn’t prince Tom it would just be another royal.” Her father said, stuffing a piece of bread in his mouth.

“I will not marry him! I will run away and live in the forest before I will marry that creature!”

“Which is why we’ve posted guards outside your door and beneath your window. Your favorite knight will also be escorting you around, so you don’t flee.” Her mother leaned in close, a threatening air to her voice. “I am always three steps ahead of you, my dear. Do not test me.”

Star had seemingly given up but anyone who knew the girl knew that she was constantly scheming and that would not be the last they heard from her. She’d managed to contain her anger through the rest of the day, although she did vent to Marco for at least an hour. When Tom arrived, she bit her tongue and smiled when she welcomed him before trying to escape. However, after hours of him following her and trying to get her attention, she just couldn’t take it anymore.

As they sat in the banquet hall, Tom by her side, she began to lose her patience. He was going on about the wedding planner he hired back in the Kingdom of Fire that Star would meet with when they returned. Star clenched her hands together under the table to contain herself, but Marco knew better, and he saw her façade begin to crack. He approached quickly.

“Your majesties, I’m sorry to interrupt but it seems there was a bit of an accident in princess Star’s bedroom that she must oversee.” He quickly lied.

Star sprung to her feet. “Oh, that sounds just terrible. I’ll go right now.”

She tried her best to hide her smile until she and Marco were out of sight. They walked out into the corridor that overlooked the garden. Once they were a good distance away she let out a loud sigh of relief.

“I can’t do this anymore! I’ve barely survived the day and I’m expected to spend the rest of my life with him. There’s no way I’ll make it past our wedding day.” She complained as she paced back and forth in front of her friend.

“You’ve tried talking to your parents and they’ve insisted you have the marry him. Why not trying to appeal to his sympathy? He says he loves you so maybe he’ll let you go for your happiness.”

“And then what? My parents will just find another prince or king to marry me off to and I’ll be right back in the same spot I am now. I don’t want this at all. I want to join knight training with you and do something worthwhile for my kingdom.”

“What can you do to accomplish that? Your fate is sealed by the title you were born into. How would you change their minds to allow you to become a knight?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll run away to a kingdom where I can start anew.”

“They’d never stop looking for you.”

She sighed. “I know. I wish I could change my fate.”

“Only magic can change your fate and you know it’s too dangerous.”

“I know, I know. I’m just desperate for a solution.”

“Promise me you’re not going to go looking for a spell.” Marco crossed his arms and gave her a stern look.

Star rolled her eyes. “I promise I won’t go looking for a spell to change my fate.”

“Good. Now prepare yourself because you’re going to have to go back.”

“But I don’t want to.” She whined.

“Maybe marrying him won’t be so bad. Once you’re Queen you can do whatever you want, right? You can start training with the knights under royal decree or something.”

“Yes, but I’ll have to get my _husband_ to agree.” Star scrunched up her nose in disgust as she said the word husband.

Marco leaned against one of the windows and looked out over the garden. “I think it would be great to rule. I do like being a knight, but I don’t have a lot of power and many of the others give me a hard time for being friends with you.”

“They’re just jealous that they don’t get to hang out with a princess all day.”

“Probably. I’d just love to lead them and then I could punish them for speaking out of turn.”

“I didn’t take you for someone who was power hungry.” Star grinned.

“It’s not so much that I want power. I just want the respect that you command when you walk into a room. Whether you realize it or not, everyone looks up to you just because of your title alone.”

“But all eyes are on me, all of the time. I have no say in what my future holds, and I can’t even shop without an army of guards surrounding me. Marco, you have no idea how blessed you are to be able to choose your fate.”

“I guess it’s true when they say everyone wants what they can’t have.” Marco sighed.

The two friends looked solemnly out at the garden and the rapidly setting sun that cast shadows across the grounds. Tomorrow, Star would be leaving, and they could no longer have these talks. She hoped to eventually take Marco with her but with Tom around, their alone time would be short and far between. Tomorrow everything would change, and Star had as much control as a leaf caught in the wind.

\---

Star had reluctantly returned to the banquet hall and listened to Tom drone on for another hour and a half before dinner was finally called to an end. Star attempted to make her escape but was stopped before she could even make it to the door.

“Princess Star, it would be my honor to escort you to your quarters.” Tom said, a big grin filling his face.

“I don’t think that’s appropriate.” Star said, turning to leave.

“Nonsense dear, it’s only inappropriate if he enters your quarters.” Her mother said, appearing beside her.

“But mother-.”

“Star would love for you to escort her. Don’t stay in the corridor too late talking now. You two have a long day of traveling ahead of you.”

“Mother!” Star shouted as her mother walked away, ignoring her daughter completely.

Star could feel Tom standing beside her, staring holes into the side of her face. She wondered if she ran if he’d chase her. Probably. He’d most likely think she was playing a game or just in a hurry to get to her room. As her escort he’d definitely follow her all the way to her door and if she made it inside he’d knock until she answered. Star truly loathed his existence.

“Shall we?” He asked, offering her his arm.

Star looked around the room for anything she could use to get out of alone time with Tom. Her eyes landed on Marco. He was near the wall, yawning from the boring and uneventful evening. The wheels in Star’s head set in motion as she perked up and turned a smile toward Tom.

“Absolutely, but first I was instructed to keep a knight at my side at all times today. So, please allow me to fetch one before we head out.”

Before Tom could answer, Star ran across the room and grabbed Marco by the wrist. He startled from the action, having nearly fallen asleep against the wall in his boredom.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, looking around for any danger.

“You were instructed to not leave my side today, sir knight. I believe that includes after dinner when the prince is escorting me to my room, don’t you?” She gave him a look that said he better not refuse.

“Of course, milady.” Marco rolled his eyes as he allowed her to pull him across the room to where Tom was waiting.

Tom’s smile fell away when he saw who was with Star. He knew Marco all too well as the knight who occupied her attention most days. He understood that he was her childhood friend, but he didn’t believe that Star should be so familiar with a knight. She was his fiancé and soon to be queen of two kingdoms. She didn’t need to waste her time on fruitless friendships.

“Ok, I’m ready.” Star said, ignoring Tom’s offered arm and exiting the banquet hall dragging Marco behind her.

Tom glared at the retreating back of the knight he loathed before quickly catching up with them. Star was walking quickly, her gown bunched up in one hand to keep it away from her feet and slowing her down.

“So, Star, the wedding planner is going to be staying at the castle with us until our big day. We can stay up until all hours of the night planning everything out with her. Isn’t that exciting?” Tom asked, his smile returning.

“Oh, uh, I’m not really interested in planning, so I’ll let you two handle that.” Star said, picking up her pace.

“Nonsense, you’re the bride to be! You have to have a say in everything.”

“No point in planning what’s never going to happen.” Star said quietly to herself.

After a few minutes of racing through winding corridors the trio finally found their way to Star’s large double bedroom doors. Star stood beside Marco and turned toward Tom. She noticed the unpleasant look he was giving Marco and she rolled her eyes. He was always jealous of their friendship, but Marco was like a brother to her.

“Well, thanks for escorting me. Good night.” Star said, turning her back to him and reaching for her doorknob.

“Wait!” Tom called out, appearing beside her and placing a hand on top of hers. “Princess Star, I just want to say that I don’t know what I’ve done to be so lucky to be marrying a beautiful girl such as yourself.”

“Er…thanks.” Star said, trying to shake free of his grip.

“Tomorrow is the beginning of our lives together. I know you’ll be happy in my kingdom, which is soon to be yours as well.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I wish for you pleasant dreams and restful sleep to prepare for our journey tomorrow. Good night my princess.” Tom bowed his head and raised her hand to his lips.

Star cringed and pulled her hand away after he laid a kiss on her fingers. Before he could say or do anything else, she opened her door and scurried inside. She poked her head just beyond the door to say her goodnights.

“Right, uh, good night prince Tom.” She said quickly and without emotion. “Good night Marco, please escort Tom to his sleep quarters and do try to be nice.” She smirked at him before closing the door.

Marco rolled his eyes and smiled. Tom’s smile fell away the second Star was out of sight. The two boys began their way back down the corridor toward the guest room Tom was staying in. The silence that hung between them was tense and Marco didn’t want to open his mouth and accidentally offend him.

“I’m told you’ll be joining us in my kingdom in a few weeks.” Tom said, breaking the awkward silence.

“Yes. As soon as you two are married.” Marco responded keeping his eyes forward and making sure to walk two steps behind Tom.

“You know, if you really want to stay in the Kingdom of the Moon you have that choice. We have plenty of knights around to keep Star safe.”

“I’m sure you do, but this is princess Star’s wishes.”

“Yes, you are her favorite knight, aren’t you?” Tom sneered.

Marco didn’t respond, knowing he wasn’t actually asking him. He thought it was silly that Tom envied their relationship. Marco’s parents were both knights in the castle when he was born. Princess Star was born around the same time. When the queen found out about Marco she suggested that the two spend some time together since Star didn’t have much of a chance to socialize with other babies. From then on they were inseparable.

When Marco joined the knights, Star would sneak out of lessons and hide to watch them train. Every evening they’d recount their days to each other. Star would talk about how boring it was to sip tea and balance books on her head and Marco would show her his new scars and secretly teach her to sword fight.

When Star turned eighteen and the wedding date was announced, Star went to her parents and insisted that she would run away if Marco wasn’t permitted to go with her. Marco had agreed, of course. He didn’t really want to leave his parents, but he knew he couldn’t abandon his best friend during this change in her life. Now her husband to be was angry about him coming along. Marco prayed that Star’s life wouldn’t be unhappy in the Kingdom of Fire.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took me so long. I've been dealing with enrolling in this new school and other boring adult responsibilities. Then I discovered Stranger Things and that's been my life for like the last three weeks. But here's the second chapter, finally! I'll try not to take as long next time but my school starts June 25th and it's going to take up all my time probably.

Star was unable to sleep no matter what she did. Her mind would not stop racing and her stomach would not stop rolling at the thought of what the next day would bring. After several unsuccessful hours of lying in bed and watching the stars beyond her window, she gave up and began pacing around her room.

There had to be a last minute saving grace that could free her from this marriage contract. She promised Marco she wouldn’t use magic but surely looking in some magic books wouldn’t hurt. Maybe the reading would put her to sleep or she could use a spell that would make her content with her circumstances.

Star opened her door a crack and stuck her head out into the corridor. She looked both ways, but the knight patrol was no where to be seen. She tiptoed out into the hall and carefully closed her door behind her. She had to move quickly and quietly through the shadows to make it to the library unnoticed.

At every noise, she jumped and pressed her back to the wall, hopeful that whatever it was wouldn’t see her sneaking around. She felt silly having to sneak around her own home, but with Tom there everyone knew that she was a potential flight risk.

She sighed in relief when she saw the double doors that lead to the library. As she opened one of the doors, it squeaked loudly, and she flinched, afraid that someone had heard. When she didn’t hear the rapid approach of any knights, she ducked inside and closed the heavy door behind her. Grabbing one of the candles near the door, she lit it with a simple spell and began her search.

Many of the books in the library were stories of their kingdom’s past and the great adventures of heroes that resided within their nation. She’d hoped that one day there’d be a book about her and her adventures, but at the moment that seemed unlikely. The only stories that would be written about her would be about the kind of ruler she was. Boring.

If the most memorable thing about her was what kind of banquets she held for other royals, she might as well just give up now. She didn’t even like attending the banquets, especially lately. Every other royal she came across would ask her questions about her wedding and every time she tried to change the subject they’d bring it right back to her marriage.

Star shook the memories from her mind and continued down the aisles of bookshelves. She lazily dragged her fingers along the spines, dust collecting on her fingertips from years of disuse. When she came to the spell books her heart skipped a beat. She’d promised Marco she wouldn’t do anything, but surely looking couldn’t hurt.

Her eyes drifted over the different books, all old and bound in leather. She’d spent years studying the books in her classes. Mostly boring spells like how to keep tea hot throughout an entire party and making flowers grow. Nothing particularly useful in her opinion. She didn’t even know where to begin on her own. Not that she was looking for anything specific.

After a while of looking up and down the shelves, her eyes landed on a purple book she’d never seen before. She pulled it down, finding it lighter than she’d expected. The title was embossed in gold letters she didn’t recognize, and the entire thing seemed to let off a dull glow. She ran her hand over the cover and jumped when it began to levitate in front of her. She took a step back and raised her hand that held her previous spell to illuminate the space in front of her.

As the book floated, the cover began to lift, and the pages blew open from a nonexistent wind. Star pressed her back to the shelf behind her and wondered if she should run and get her mom. She’d never seen a spell book do something like this before.

Before she could decide, the book stopped on a page in the middle and the center began to glow with a blinding light. A dark shadow filled the center of the ball of light and began to rise out of the book. Star stifled a scream as she searched her memories of any kind of defense spell she might have been taught. Nothing came to mind, so she instead thought of the knight practices she’d spied on in the past. She didn’t have a sword or shield or a lance. All she had was books. Grabbing one of the heavier books behind her, she held it open with the cover facing away from her in a makeshift shield.

She expected a monster, a fight and maybe a few quickly shot off water spells that would hopefully slow it down. What she hadn’t been expecting was a small blue man, quietly meditating in midair. She lowered the book she was holding and stared at him, waiting for him to morph into something terrifying. Instead, one of his eyes cracked open and he looked her up and down.

“Princess Star.” He said, in a way of greeting.

“You know my name?” She asked, breathless.

“Of course. I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Me?”

“You are to be ruler of this land one day. Every queen seeks me out eventually.”

“Who are you?” Star still had her back pressed against the shelf and the book held in front of her. While he didn’t seem like a threat, she didn’t fully trust him.

“Glossaryck. I am the keeper of the spells within these pages.”

Star looked past him at the letters on the page. They were the same unfamiliar letters that were on the cover. They weren’t spells she could read and she wondered if her mother was able to read them.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you. It was an accident. Please don’t tell my mother.” Star begged, closing the book in her hands.

“Finding me is never an accident. There’s something you need.”

“No, really. I was just browsing because I couldn’t sleep.”

“Sleep alludes you because something is weighing on your mind. What is it?”

“I…I have to leave tomorrow to plan my wedding.”

“Cold feet?”

“Not exactly. I don’t love him. I don’t even like him.”

“So, you don’t want to go?”

“No. I don’t want to marry him. I…I don’t even want to be queen!” Star slapped a hand over her mouth and looked toward the door to make sure no one had heard her.

“Being queen is your destiny.”

“Yes, I know.” Star couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she sighed. “I’m destined to rule and hate every moment of it.”

“What would you do instead, if you could choose your fate?” He had his eyes closed and Star wondered if he would notice if she left. This was getting dangerous and she had promised Marco. She promised she wouldn’t do anything or even think about it. But…just talking about it couldn’t hurt, right?

“I want to be a knight, like Marco.” She said, standing with her back straight. Getting to admit that to someone besides Marco was such a relief.

“You’d give up your throne to become a disposable knight?”

Star thought about that for a moment. She never considered any of the knights as disposable and she never assumed her parents saw them that way either. Then again, they weren’t close with a knight like she was. If anything happened to Marco, she’d mourn his loss and she’d mourn along with him if another knight lost their life.

“I…I’d give up my throne.” She said, trying not to sound uncertain.

“You’d no longer have whatever you wanted. No one would bow at your feet. You’d have to fight and claw your way to the top.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Are you certain that this is what you want?”

Glossaryck opened his eyes and watched her as she took a deep breath and stood tall. “I’m certain.”

The pages began to flutter below where Glossaryck was still floating. When he lifted his hand, they stopped. Star looked down at the page and found that she could now partially read the words. This new language was one she was still learning and many of the words were too complicated for her to read just yet. She looked to Glossaryck.

“What am I meant to do?” She asked, suddenly feelings nervous.

“It’s not as complicated as it looks.” He raised his hand again and this time, a single pin was pinched between his fingers. “Prick your finger and let your blood drip on the page while announcing your name and title.”

Star took the pin and looked at the sharp point. She promised. Marco’s face flashed in her mind. She couldn’t betray him. She couldn’t let him down. She thought about giving the pin back and running back to her room when Tom’s face came into her mind. She saw herself marrying him, ruling with him, having his children and forcing them to marry people they don’t love, and her stomach turned.

She pricked the tip of her finger and held it above the page with the spell. With a deep breath, she opened her mouth and began to speak.

“I am Star Butterfly. Princess of the Kingdom of the Moon. Next in line to be queen.” A drop of blood fell from her finger and splattered on the page. A bright light rose up from the book and Star had to shield her eyes. A high-pitched noise filled her ears, and everything went black.

\--

Marco awoke to the morning sun stinging his eyes. He groaned when he realized he must have slept through the morning call and would certainly face a punishment when he showed up for training.

He rolled over and wondered if he’d missed saying goodbye to Star. It would be a while before he got to follow after her. He’d never been away from her for very long. Even when her family would go on holiday, she insisted she needed her favorite knight by her side and he’d been permitted to go with them. It would be strange to be without his friend.

Sitting up, he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. He was surprised his mother wasn’t in his room trying to wake him. In fact, everything was rather quiet. Normally he’d hear his father getting ready or the clank of armor and sword beyond his window.

He stood and found that his floor wasn't as cold as it usually was. Normally he’d have to hop from foot to foot to keep the cold from seeping into his feet. His legs felt strangely cold, however. Everything about this morning felt off for him.

Blinking through the blurry remnants of sleep, he realized he was facing a white wall. The walls of his room were made of cold stone and were not painted. He looked around and saw that he wasn’t in his room, or even his house. He was in a room in the castle. If he wasn’t mistaken, this was Star’s room.

Immediately embarrassed, he turned to the bed, expecting to find Star. The bed was empty. How had he ended up in Star’s room? In her bed? He had to get out before someone saw him. Creeping toward the door, he put his ear against the door and listened for footsteps. When he heard none, he twisted the doorknob and poked his head out.

He looked both ways and saw no one. He opened the door just enough for him to squeeze out and stepped out into the hall. He was prepared to run when approaching voices stopped him. He listened carefully to which direction they were coming from and who it could be.

“I’ve already had her bags packed and loaded into the carriage. All she has to do is get ready and put on a smile before she leaves.”

Marco immediately recognized the voice as the queen’s commanding tone. If she saw him running from Star’s room early in the morning in his pajamas, he could be banished. He quickly ducked back into her room and shut the door. There had to be a place for him to hide.

He looked around and considered her wardrobe. They’d have to open it to get her a dress out so that was probably a bad idea. He looked to her bed and tried to dive beneath but she had so many of her things hidden under there, there was so room for him.

A knock came from the door and he practically jumped out of his skin.

“Star, dear. It’s your mother. I’m coming in.” the queen called through the door.

Marco frantically looked around for somewhere, anywhere that he could hide himself but when the doorknob turned, he knew he was out of luck. The door swung open and the queen came in, followed by two maids.

“Good morning, Star. I trust you slept well.” She said, looking right at Marco.

His mouth fell open in shock, soundless as he looked behind him. He was certain he hadn’t seen Star in there. And why wasn’t she freaking out about Marco being in Star’s room?

“What is wrong with you? If you’re not going to speak, close your mouth.” The queen crossed the room and placed her hand on Marco’s chin, closing his mouth for him.

He froze, confused and terrified. He didn’t think the queen had ever spoken to him to casually before, let alone touched him. He was waiting to be yelled at, possibly hit and punished harshly for entering the princess’s room.

“Stop this nonsense and say something.” The queen demanded.

“I…” Marco squeaked. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m sorry.” The look on his face as he spoke was one of pure shock. He tried again. “I didn’t mean to…” He trailed off as he was certain this time, it was not his voice at all. Coming from his lips was unmistakably, Star’s voice.

“Didn’t mean to what? What is wrong with you this morning?” The queen asked.

Marco walked passed the queen and toward the wardrobe in the corner of the room. With shaky hands, he opened the door and stared at himself in the mirror. His short brown hair was long and blonde. His brown eyes had turned blue. His callused hands from years of sword practice were soft and manicured. The worst of it all, he had boobs. Any way he looked at it, he was Star.

“Star!” The queen yelled, her patience running thin.

“I’m sorry. I need to go find…go find Marco. Right now.” He said, rushing to the door.

The queen grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“You can play with your friend another time. You must get ready. You have responsibilities. We went over this yesterday and I will not hear any protests.”

“It’s an emergency! I promise I will be right back to get dressed.”

“Your promises mean nothing anymore, my dear. Stop this foolishness at once.”

“Yes…mother.” Marco said in Star’s voice.

When the queen was satisfied, she released his arm and he wasted no time bolting for the door. The queen's voice followed him down the corridor as he sprinted toward the barracks. He turned a corner and ran straight into his father.

“Forgive me, your majesty. I’m looking for my son.” He said, apologetic.

“He’s not in his room?” He asked, pretending he didn’t know.

“I’ve looked everywhere, and I can’t find him. Has he been to visit you this morning?”

“No…not exactly. I’m looking for him too. Why don’t I help?”

“Oh, that’s quite alright, it’s your big travel day, isn’t it?”

“It’s supposed to be, yes but I can spare some time.” Marco turned to go the other way but stopped and turned back to his dad. “If you see me again, tell me to go this way, ok?”

He gave him a quizzical look but agreed. Marco took off down the hall trying to remember all of Star’s hiding places. As he passed the library, he noticed that one of the big double doors was open a crack. Hardly anyone used the library when there weren’t lessons going on. Surely no one would be in there on Star’s departure day.

He entered the library and immediately set to work looking for Star. He just knew she had something to do with this, he just didn’t know how or why. She didn’t want to go with Tom, but surely, she wouldn’t cast a spell on Marco to make him look like her, so he had to go instead. He was her best friend. She wouldn’t do that to him. He hoped.

He made his way straight to the shelves that housed the spell books. If she was in the library and responsible for this, that’s where she’d be. He passed shelf after shelf finding nothing but dust and books until finally, at the very end of an aisle, he saw a body with a book over its face.

Marco approached cautiously, on the off chance that it wasn’t Star. He nudged the body in the ribs and it rolled over, knocking the book off its face. Marco fell back into the shelf when he saw his own face. Kneeling on the floor, he took his own shoulders in Star’s hands and shook violently.

“Wake up!” He yelled.

His eyes opened and stared up at him. His eyebrows knit together, and his mouth fell open.

“Why do you look like me?” His voice said before his eyes opened wide.

“I could ask the same thing.” Marco said.

“Marco?”

“Star, what have you done?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an extremely short chapter and I apologize for that and how long it's taken me to update. I've been in cosmetology school since June and it's very long hours and very exhausting work. When I get home I have little to no energy for anything, especially after regular adult responsibilities. I promise I will try to get the next chapter out in a week or two and it will be much longer! Don't give up on me yet!

As Star sat staring into her own eyes, which were scowling at her, all of the events from the night before came rushing back. The awful dinner with Tom, her inability to sleep, her trek around the castle that ended in the library, the spell book, the little blue man, the pin, the blood and the spell. Her voice was not her own. As Marco looked like her, she knew she must look like him.

“What happened?” Star asked, sitting up.

“I should be asking that. Why were you asleep amongst the spell books?”

“I…I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to read.”

“So you came to read spells?”

“No, I wasn’t planning to but there was this book and this man…”

Marco’s knight instincts kicked in as he stood tall and surveyed their surroundings.

“What man? How did he get into the castle?” He asked.

“He was in the book.”

Marco turned back to Star. “What?”

“He came out of the book and said that I had sought him out, but I hadn’t. He…gave me a spell.”

“What kind of spell?”

Star looked guilty. “I don’t know…he said I could be a knight.”

“And you just cast the spell without any other information?! Well congratulations Star, you’re a knight. However, that particular body and identity was already being used!!” Marco shouted.

Star winced and rose to her feet…Marco’s feet…whatever.

“I’m sorry Marco. I was scared and desperate.”

“You promised me you wouldn’t do this. You said no spells!”

“I know. I’m sure I can reverse it. I just need to…” Star looked down at the ground. The only book there was the one she’d used as a shield.

“What?”

“It’s not here.”

“There’s a spell book right there at your feet, my feet, it was on your…my…face when I found you.”

“That’s not it. It was purple and was glowing and could float.”

“Are you sure that wasn’t a dream?”

“I know it wasn’t! It was real!”

Marco sighed and placed a hand to his…Star’s…head. He couldn’t believe this was happening. This should not be happening. He should be saying his goodbyes to Star as she heads off to her knew home and then going to practice with the rest of the knight’s guard. What were they supposed to do now?

They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither one knowing what more could be said. The adrenaline had settled into a dull panic that had both of their minds racing. Star opened her mouth to apologize again when the library doors came crashing open.

“Star Butterfly! I know you are in here!” It was the Queen.

“It’s my mother!” She whispered. “What do we do?!”

“I don’t know! She thinks I’m you. She wants to put me in a dress and send me off with prince assface.”

“But I need your help finding that book!”

“You’ve been trying to get out of leaving today for months. What makes you think anything will work now?”

“We have to try. We have to…”

Star was cut off when the Queen rounded the corner followed by two guards. The duo stared with their mouths hanging open, completely unsure of what they should do. They could try to run but what good would that do? There were guards all over the castle and someone would stop them.

“What in heaven’s name are you two doing in here?” She asked, angry radiating off of her.

“I…we…” Star started but stopped. She wasn’t herself. She was Marco. Her mother wouldn’t listen to Marco. She looked to him with wide eyes trying to encourage him to speak.

“I…knew that Marco had fallen asleep in the library and I wanted to make sure he woke up before I left so I could say goodbye.” Marco lied, panic covering his face.

“You have countless servants! Any one of them could have done this errand for you! You are a princess, Star! You cannot traipse around the castle in your nightgown!”

“Y-yes…mother.” Marco choked on his words. Playing Star was harder than he thought it would be.

“Come with me right now. You must get changed. Prince Tom is waiting for you.”

The guards grabbed Marco by the arms and began to drag him away. He looked over his shoulder at Star, panic and fear in his eyes. Star watched helplessly. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t save herself from this fate, she just damned her best friend to live it instead.

She needed to look to the shelves of the book and the small blue man but before she could begin her search, Marco’s father appeared, red faced.

“There you are. Do you know how late you are for training?” He asked.

“I um…” Star started.

“I know your best friend is leaving today but that is no excuse. Being friends with the Princess doesn’t give you special privileges.”

Star was grabbed by the arm and dragged behind him in the opposite direction Marco had gone. They were alone, stuck in each other’s lives and they had to find a way out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I ended up writing this chapter on my ipad during down time at school so I was able to get it done a little faster than expected! Yay for boring Tuesdays with no clients!

Marco stared in the mirror and couldn’t help but blush. Sure, he was in Star’s body and it was Star’s face looking back at him, but the whole ordeal was embarrassing. Three maids wrestled him out of the nightgown and into a dress while he squeezed his eyes shut and insisted he could do it alone. Now he stood wearing a blue dress that nearly reached the floor, a pair of heels that he wobbled in when he tried to walk and a tiara. All he could imagine was his body and face wearing all of this and he felt silly.

As much as he was loathing staring in the mirror, he wanted to stall as long as he could. There was a chance that Star would come bursting into the room any minute with a reverse spell that would save him from having to go with Tom in her place. A knock at the door had him whirling around and nearly falling over in the heels. He carefully slid his feet little by little to the door, hoping to see Star.

Instead, when he opened the door, he was greeted by a maid and two guards. She had a look on her face that said she felt the guard presence was ridiculous. Marco kind of agreed but he also knew that Star could and would run any chance she got. After what he’d done this morning, he wasn’t surprised they sent two guards. It was, however, surprising that they didn’t send more.

“They’re ready for you, milady.” She said.

Marco carefully and slowly followed her down the hall, the guards closing in behind him. The maid kept looking at him out of the corner of her eye. Star was used to walking in heels, but he was not. Maybe he’d get lucky and they’d just assume it was the jitters about the trip.

When they arrived at the doors that would lead them outside to the coach that was waiting for him, he looked around one last time hoping to see his own face with Star inside. She was nowhere in sight. She didn’t even come to see him off. He would have come if she were in her rightful spot. Marco had a sinking feeling that she was blowing him off and letting him live out her life.

Tom grinned from ear to ear when he saw Marco (Star) approaching. It was weird. Marco was so used to being glared at by the prince, seeing him smiling so happily at him was kind of funny. He suppressed a chuckle as he imagined what Tom would say if he knew he was really looking at Marco. He’d have to tell Star about that one later. If he ever saw her again.

“Good morning, Star. Are you ready to go to our home?” He asked, grabbing Star’s hand and kissing her knuckles.

Marco grimaced, which was not totally out of character for Star. It would have been weirder if he hadn’t reacted that way. Tom held onto her hand as Marco carefully climbed up the steps of the coach. The door closed behind him and for the first time he realized how awful this really was. He was stuck in Star’s body, heading off to a different kingdom, and would probably end up having to marry Tom. Everything that Star hadn’t wanted had now been thrust into his lap. He thought he was beginning to understand how she felt.

\----

As Star stood in Marco’s room staring at his armor, she realized she had no idea how to put it on. She didn’t even know which one she was supposed to wear. She usually saw Marco wearing the one that looked like chain but sometimes during practice they wore the heavy metal one. She opted for the chain as she imagined it wouldn’t be as heavy and, while she had Marco’s muscles, she wasn’t sure she was ready go full metal.

After getting dressed the best she could, she grabbed the sword she often saw Marco using during practice and headed out to the courtyard where dummies clad in old dented armor stood waiting. Star had watched plenty of practices before to have a general idea and Marco had taught her some basic sword fighting techniques in secret.

She lined up along the other knights and mimicked their stance. Back straight, sword point down, hands overlapped on the hilt, staring straight ahead at the knight captain. Marco’s dad had never seemed intimidating. He was always so nice to her and silly. He was what Star thought I dad should be. Not like her dad who only seemed to care about hunting and politics. He never really played with her when she was young. He was always too busy.

Now, as Star stood in Marco’s shoes (literally), she was a little intimidated by him. He stood tall and muscular over all the knights in the line. He paced back and forth in front of them all, sizing them up as he went. Suddenly, unexpectedly, he stopped and shouted out a word so quickly Star didn’t hear it.

Every other knight in the line grabbed the hilt of their sword in their dominant hand and swung it up in front of their face, stopping just before hitting their noses. Star took a minute to process what had just happened, and by the time she did Marco’s dad was staring her down. She quickly followed suit, bumping her nose just a little with the sword. Lucky for her, it wasn’t sharp as it was used for training.

She heard some of the knights around her laugh quietly, but they quickly stopped when his dad looked at them. Star knew that some of the other knights gave Marco a hard time for being friends with her, but she wondered if they ever harassed him because of his dad being the captain of the knights guard. They probably assumed there was nepotism and that was why Marco was chosen so often for tasks. Star knew better. He worked his butt off to get to where he was. She could feel it in the sore muscles she’d been fighting to ignore since the switch.

Everything settled down again as the knights stood as perfect statues. Marco’s dad yelled out again and all Star heard was “Stance!” which she was pretty sure was the last word of string of three or more. She watched more closely this time and followed the lead of the others. They all dropped their left foot back behind them (except the lefties who moved their right) and raised their sword up, pointed away from them. Star followed as quickly as she could, but she was still a beat behind everyone else who seemed to move in perfect synchronicity.

Marco’s dad stared daggers at her and came to stand at the end of her sword. Star swallowed hard, suddenly afraid of the angry look on his face. This was not the man she knew.

“Do we have a problem here?” He asked.

“No, sir.” She said, not looking at him.

Without another word, he began pacing again. At the next shouted instructions all the others put their sword against their opposite hip and covered the blade with their free hand. Star was a bit quicker this time but still not in synch. It continued like this for some time. When he was satisfied, he released them to practice on the dummies and spare amongst themselves.

Star chose one of the dummies, thinking it’s probably the safest bet for her first day. She took a minute to watch the others and began copying what she sees them doing. Her swordsmanship is sloppy, and she added making Marco look like a fool to her list of apologies. She keeps trying, but just when she thinks she’s getting the hang of it, she hears Marco’s name being called.

“Marco. See me in the armory!” His dad shouted.

Star lowered her sword and took a deep breath before following him toward the armory. She knew she had screwed up and she had no idea what would happen. Marco never talked about this. She didn’t even know if he’d ever been in this situation before.

The armory is dark aside from the light filtering in through the windows. Mr. Diaz is standing with his arms crossed. Star approached to stand before him. He raised one hand and she flinched before his hand came down heavy on her shoulder.

“What is wrong with you today?”

Star opened her eyes and suddenly it was the same old man she knew standing before her. She relaxed.

“I’m just not…feeling like myself today.”

“It’s because Star left, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Not a total lie. Ok maybe it was because she was Star, but he didn’t know that.

“I know it’s going to be hard for a few weeks, but you’ll be with her soon. Your mother and I will miss you terribly, but I know you’ll be happy.”

“Of course. She’s my best friend.” Star said, trying to speak like Marco.

“Are you sure that’s all you are?” He winks.

“W-what?! No absolutely not! Me and M….uh Star?! I don’t think so.”

He chuckled loudly before smacking her on the back. “I’m just teasing my boy, relax.”

“Right…”

He looked toward the door and she could see him morphing back into the knight captain.

“Take the rest of the day but I expect you in top form tomorrow morning, understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

He left her alone in the armory and rejoined the knights. She could hear him bellow to them. “You see what happens when you slack off?! You spend the day shining armor!”

So, there was a bit of nepotism it seemed. Or maybe it was just because he knew that Marco would be upset at Star’s leaving. She didn’t really know because this was all so confusing. She wondered if Marco would have made any mistakes if none of this had happened.

Sighing, she headed back to Marco’s room to strip off the sweaty armor and wash up. Her first day of knight training and she was a disgrace.

\----

Marco hadn’t spoken since their journey began. He was afraid and anxious and really pissed off. Tom, however, had no problem filling the silence. He’d been talking for almost an hour about his kingdom and what he wanted to show Star as soon as they got there. He already found the prince obnoxious and his yammering on now was not helping his opinion of him.

“Then I thought we could have a late-night picnic under the star. Maybe with candle light. Do you like candles?” He asked.

Marco didn’t even register the question, he was too bust staring out the window and sulking. On a good note, he was definitely doing a good job of passing for Star.

“Star?”

Marco reacted to her name, startled by it until he remembered he was referring to him.

“What is it?” Marco asked, refusing to play at being polite.

“Do you prefer star light or candle light?”

Marco thought back to all the late-night conversations he and Star had when they’d sneak out of their rooms to recount their days to one another. They’d always hidden in the shadows, the stars the only witness to their giggling.

“Star light.” He said, turning back to the window.

“I guess that makes sense, since your name is Star.” Tom chuckled which dissolved into an anxious cough when “Star” didn’t laugh.

Marco rolled his eyes. What a loser. If he thought this was the way to Star’s heart, he didn’t know her at all. He certainly wasn’t about to pretend to be in love to help Star. He was too angry with her to do anything that might benefit her down the line. Sure, she was his oldest and closest friend, but she’d made a promise and broke it in a huge way, screwing him over in the process.

He knew how desperate she was, he knew how she was feeling, he’d known since day one. That didn’t excuse what she did. There were many other options and she just chose to ignore them and take the easy way out. Just like always. Marco was angry that her life was so easy as the princess of a kingdom and she took it for granted and threw it all away because she wasn’t getting her way.

Ok…maybe that was unfair. No one should be forced into marrying someone they don’t love. But now that was precisely what was going to happen to him. He was going to be forced to marry the prince in her place.

Tom was still rambling about his planned dates. He wanted to go on a horse drawn carriage ride, but wasn’t that what they were doing right now? What was the point of doing it again? Everything he said struck a nerve and he was doing everything he could to keep his mouth shut until they arrived, and he could have some peace and quiet away from the annoying prince.

If they never got this fixed, he’d curse Star’s name until the day he died.

\----

Star felt weird sneaking around her castle. Actually, scratch that, she was used to it but not as Marco. If she was caught, she’d be in significantly more trouble as him. Being a princess did have a few perks, like authority. No one could tell her she couldn’t go to the library in the middle of the day. Well, besides her parents. Really it was her mom who had this power hungry need to control Star’s every move. Her friend, her schedule, her diet, who she’d going to marry. For lunars sake, she was engaged before she could talk.

Somehow, she made it to the library doors without incident. Usually the only people in this wing during this time of day were Star and tutors. But since “Star” was gone, no one was hanging around.

The doors creaked as she opened them just enough to slide through. It wasn’t as eerie as it was the night before, but still a little creepy and too quiet.

This time she headed straight to eh spell books and began searching for the glowing purple book. Before, the little man had told her she’d been seeking him out. She didn’t really understand how when she didn’t even know he existed before that. Still, maybe if she was actually looking for him it would be easier to find him.

“Hello?” she called out to the empty aisles. “Little blue man are you here?”

She searched her brain fort he name he had given her. Gloss…Glossy? No, he wasn’t a dwarf with either very nice hair or very oily skin. Glossamire? Glossator? No…it was…

“Glossaryck?” She called. No response.

“It’s princess Star. I know I don’t sound like, or even look like Star but I am. That spell you gave me kind of went wrong. I think you gave me the wrong spell.”

“I never give the wrong spell.”

Star jumped and spun around. The book and Glossaryck were floating behind her. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest. Ok, they were Marco’s heart and chest but at the moment she was using them.

Where did you come from?” She asked.

“I thought we cleared this up last night.”

“I mean…never mind. Why did Marco and I switch bodies?”

“You said you wanted to be a knight like your friend. Now you are.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“You must be very specific with spells, surely you’ve been told this before.”

Actually, she hadn’t. She’d never been taught anything useful or amazing. It wasn’t really a rule when fixing the broken heel on your shoe during a garden party.

“Well, this isn’t’ what I wanted. I need a spell to change back.”

“There is no spell.”

Star’s eyes grew wide as she stared at him in disbelief. This couldn’t be true. There had to be a way to reverse what she’d done and give Marco his body back. If there wasn’t, she’d never be able to forgive herself and neither would Marco.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a baby chapter I wrote this afternoon when I was bored. It's nice to have this out of the way because now the plot will really begin to move!

Marco wasn’t really surprised that Toms’ castle was huge and dark from the outside. But he was surprised by how green everything was. When you hear “Kingdom of Fire” you tend to picture embers and flames everywhere and very, very, hot weather. Instead, the foliage was bright and colorful, and the breeze was pleasant. It really wasn’t all that different from the Kingdom of the Moon.

Marco accepted Tom’s offered hand, as much as he hated it, to help him get out of the coach. His legs were pretty numb after the long ride and he still wasn’t used to the heels. His body ached, and he resisted the urge to stretch and crack every tense muscle because that was probably something princesses didn’t do in public. Instead, he stealthily turned his upper body both ways as if he was looking at the scenery, not enjoying that loud pop that just went down his spine.

He followed Tom toward the front door where a lone if servants were waiting. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Surely, he had set up some display of his wealth for Star to admire when she got there. It was wasted on Marco. It would have been wasted on Star too. She didn’t care about that kind of thing.

The entry way was big and brightly lit with chandeliers. Flares had been carved into the trim around every wall and he couldn’t help but admire the craftsmanship. It was pretty cool, but he couldn’t tell Tom that. Not as Star anyway.

The servants all bowed, and it made Marco feel weird. Did Star always feel this weird when people bowed to her? He didn’t know what he should do or say, but thankfully they quickly stopped and a small girl in a maid’s uniform stepped forward.

“Milady, my name is Genevieve. I will be taking care of your every need during your time here.” She said, bowing again.

“Oh…um…thank you.” Marco said, unsure if that as the right response for a princess.

Before he could worry about it any long, Tom ushered him forward. The tour began, and Marco debated kicking off the heels as they walked down the first impossibly long corridor. Tom showed him the library, the barracks, the sitting room, the dining hall, the kitchen, his office, the courtyard and finally, after what felt like an agonizing three hours of walking around in heels and listening to Tom talk about what he loved about each and every inch of the castle, to Star’s room.

“This is where you’ll be staying for the first few weeks until the wedding.” Tom said, opening the door for him.

Marco stepped in and immediately realized the implication. After the wedding they were expected to share a room and a bed. Marco would do a lot of Star, but he would not have sex with her husband for her. As tired as he was, and as much as that bed was calling his name, he knew that he couldn’t rest yet. As soon as he was left alone he needed to start figuring out a way to get back home.

Marco faked a yawn. “Your castle is very…beautiful, but that tour left me quite exhausted. I think I’m in need of a nap.”

Before Tom could say anything, Marco closed the door with a slam. He took a moment to sigh and enjoy the quiet before looking around. The room wasn’t all that bad. The walls were white, and a white canopy bed sat in the middle with the headboard against the wall. Gold designs had seemingly been painted on the wooden columns but when Marco got a closer look, he could see it was actual gold imbedded in the wood. The bedding was yellow, Star’s favorite color. Marco sat on the edge of the bed and could have cried it was so soft.

He’d only been in Star’s room once and that was just that morning when he was confused and didn’t have a chance to asses the quality of her bedspread. His own bedding was warm but scratchy. He’d never laid down on something so soft. It called to him as he fought the urge to sink into the mattress for. It was a losing battle as within minutes, he was fast asleep still in the blue gown.

\----

The following morning, practice didn’t go much better for Star. Of course, this time she was distracted. Her conversation with Glossaryck hadn’t gone the way she planned. She was hoping to find a solution quickly and have Marco back in his rightful place by the end of the week. Now, it all seemed hopeless.

“What do you mean there’s no spell?” Star had asked the day before.

“I mean just what I said.”

“So, how do I get back to normal?”

“That’s up to you.”

“What does that mean?” Star was getting frustrated at the man who seemed to speak in riddles.

“You wished to be a knight like your friend. You have to unwish your wish.”

“Ok, then I wish to be Princess Star Butterfly again.”

Nothing happened.

“It’s not going to be that easy.” He closed his eyes and began to meditate, annoying Star even further.

“But I wished it!”

“Saying the words and truly wanting it are two different things.”

“I do want it! I want Marco to have his body back!”

“That may be true, but you do not want your own. You still do not wish to be queen or to marry the prince. Only when you truly want your old life back, will you be able to wish for it.”

Star dropped her arm to her side, the end of her sword thumping to the ground. She’d tried for years to make herself want that life and it never worked. What could she possibly do now to make her want to be herself again? Hard work, adventure, this is what she wanted. She looked down at the callouses on Marco’s hands and longed for her own hands to look this way. A life worth living, that’s all she wanted.

“Slacking off cause he’d the captain’s son.” One of the nearby knights whispered to another.

Star looked in their direction and they both laughed. Star rolled her eyes. She’d heard stories from Marco of all the things they said about him. She knew they were all jealous of his talent and good fortune. If only they knew it was really Star they were looking at now.

“He’s so weak, he can barely even lift the practice sword” The same knight whispered.

Something is Star began to boil. Her frustration with the spell, her anger at herself for damning Marco, her life that she had to find a way to want. All of it was beginning to rise up within her. Violent bubbles spilling over the edges.

“Is there something you’d like to sty to me?” Star asked.

One thing Marco had that Star did not was self-control.

“Oh no, we wouldn’t want your father disciplining us because we hurt your feelings.” They laughed.

Star looked to the knight captain, he was on the other side of the field with his back turned to them as he watched a spare between two knights.

“He’s busy right now. So, go ahead, tell me what you think of me.”

The two looked at each other. It was the kind of look that said they had been preparing for this day. The day when they could unload all their insecurities onto Marco and make it seem like it was his fault. It was an ugly thing to do and something Star had seen so many times before. It made her stomach sick to think this was happening to her best friend. She was glad it was her in his place.

“With your little girlfriend gone, you don’t have anyone to cry to anymore. What will you do when we’ve upset you?” One asked, making a face to appear as if he was crying in mocking way.

“That’s the best you’ve got?” Star scoffed.

“You think you’re so much better than use because your dad is the captain and your best friend is the princess. We can’t wait to be rid of you.”

“Is that right? So, I guess the bruises, scares and callouses are just the marks of my pampered life.”

“You don’t work as hard as any of us! WE all know you got the day off yesterday just because the princess left!”

“I work harder than any of you! Do you know how many nights he…I stayed up practicing until I was passing out from exhaustion?! How many of you can stay you’ve done the same?” Hearing the hatred these people had for her best friend first hand was too much. She thought she could handle it. Absorb it for him, fight his battles.

“Is that what you call spending the night crying in your daddy’s lap?”

The smug smile on his face, the way he looked at Marco like he was a smudge of dirt on his armor, the hate he spewed. All of it caused Star to snap. She threw her practice sword to the ground and lunged forward toward the one speaking. He seemed taken off guard. What Star didn’t know was Marco’s dad’s stance on fighting. If it wasn’t with a sword, it would get you suspended from the guard.

Even if she had known, there was a good chance she would still have done it. Landing on top of him knocked the wind out of the man’s lungs and he gasped for breath as Star hit him with a right hook. She was going for a second punched when strong hands grabbed her around the arms and lifted her into the air as if she weighed nothing. The next thing she knew, she was being dropped on her butt a few feet away.

Marco’s dad stood over her with fire burning in his eyes. He may have had a soft spot for his son, but she had crossed the line. Another thing added to the list to apologize to Marco for.

“Get up.” He said, his voice gruff and angry.

Star rose to her feet, dusting dirt and grass from her backside. She felt small, even with Marco’s height, under his stare. She prepared herself for the worst.

“What are you?” He asked.

“Sir?” Star asked in a respectful question.

“What ARE YOU?” He asked again, his voice growing louder.

“A…a knight?”

“On whose guard?”

“Yours, sir.”

“What don’t I tolerate on this guard?”

“Fighting.” It was a guess but likely correct.

“Precisely. You are suspended. You may return as a knight in my guard when you can act like a man worthy of protecting this kingdom.”

He turned his back on her, telling her she was dismissed. She looked over her shoulder as she retreated to assess that damage she’d done. She was glad when she saw the blood dripping from his nose as the other helped him to his feet. Star might have a lot to apologize for but wait until she could tell Marco about beating up one of his “admirers”.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is ridiculously short and I apologize. My life has been nuts lately. I wanted to get at least a little something out because I don't have a lot of time to write right now. On a happier note, I'll be at Youmacon on November 3rd and maaaaybe the 2nd and I'm going as Star (and my friend might be Marco idk yet)! So if you're there feel free to say hi (though I will be with my young niece so maybe no reference to exactly what I write on here??)

Star didn’t know what to do with herself not that she wasn’t in knight training in the morning. It’s not like she could go looking for a spell. Glossaryck had already given her the answer to reversing it. How was she supposed to wish for her life back when she wasn’t living it at all? It’s not like she could pretend to be herself in Marco’s body. She wasn’t willing to get him into any more trouble that she already had.

Pacing back and forth in the garden was all she could do as she thought over everything in her life that she did like. Her gowns and her shoes. Those were pretty cool and made her feel powerful. If you could run in 6 inch heels, you could do anything. Access to the entire castle was nice. Sometimes she would sneak down to the kitchen and chat with Gertrude, the cook. She’d give Star snacks and let her taste test new dishes she was working on. Her bed was great. Spending two days on Marco’s bed she wasn’t sure if the sore muscles were from training or sleeping on that rock. Being able to buy what she wanted was also a major plus. And maybe marrying Tom and being queen wouldn’t be so bad.

Yea, ok, tricking the spell wasn’t going to work either. No matter how much she tried she couldn’t make herself want those two things. Maybe she could go to the Kingdom of Fire now instead of waiting until after the wedding. Then she could see what it was like to live with Tom and maybe it would make her warm up to it. Then the spell could be reversed.

“Hey, Marco.” Star nearly leapt out of her skin when she heard a sudden deep voice call out. She whirled around and sitting on the garden wall with a lute in his hands was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

“Uh, hey.” She responded. Clearly Marco knew this man, but she had never heard about him before.

“Why aren’t you with the other knights?” He asked, strumming a few notes.

“I was suspended for fighting.”

The man’s eyes widened in shock. “You? I’ve never seen you fight anyone.”

“He pushed the wrong buttons.” Star shrugged. She really wanted to know who this was. He seemed like a friend, but Marco had never mentioned a friend besides her. Would Marco hide the facts that he had other friends?

“Man, I knew you would have a little trouble adjusting to the princess leaving, but not this bad.”

He knew about Marco’s friendship with Star. That wasn’t really surprising, everyone knew they were best friends. A queasy pit settled in stomach as she wondered why Marco hid this friend from her, and what else he could possibly be hiding. Star was an open book when it came to Marco. She told him everything. There were no secret. At least for her there weren’t.

“You ok?” The man asked.

“Yea just…like you said…missing Star.”

“What am I gonna do when you go over there too? Are you sure you need to move away?”

“Of course. Star needs me.”

“Isn’t she going to be busy being queen? And she’ll have two armies behind her. Does she really need a personal knight anymore?”

“It’s not just about having a personal knight. We’re best friends. Without me she has no one.”

“What about her husband?”

Star’s anger began to boil. Who was he to judge their friendship when she didn’t even know he was? Did Marco talk to him about her? Did he complain about her? All this time she thought Marco wanted to come with her to the Kingdom of Fire, but if he was keeping secrets, maybe that was all a lie too.

“She doesn’t love him. She doesn’t even like him. She needs me!”

The man sat up and put his hands up, defensively. “Woah, woah, sorry man. I didn’t realize you two were like that.”

“Like what?”

“Well…like…in love, right?”

Star guffawed and put her hand to her chest before quickly catching herself and trying to fall back into Marco mode. “We’re not…it’s not like that! She’s like my sister. That’s why she needs me. Why we need each other.”

“If you say so.” The air between them fell quiet, aside from his gentle strumming. “Well…” He broke the silence, smiling brightly. “If you don’t have training today then why don’t we hit the town?”

“I’m not…” Star was about to say she wasn’t allowed, but that wasn’t true. She was in Marco’s body. He didn’t have rules about leaving the castle grounds. For the first time in her life, she could go out without an army of guards. All anger she felt toward this man a minute ago faded away and was replaced by excitement.

“Yes! I would…very much like that.” She said, unable to suppress the grin.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeey it's been a minute. Don't want to crowd up here so jump the bottom or give it a read after the chapter if you're curious about the mini hiatus and future plans!

Marco woke with a start when Genevieve entered the room and threw the curtains open, sending the sunlight across the room and right into his eyes. She hummed as she went through the closet full of Star’s clothes to set out an outfit. Marco was a bit disoriented, still wearing the gown from the day before. He’d passed out as soon as he sat on the bed and had apparently slept all night.

“Good morning, milady. You must have been awfully tired from your travels yesterday. The prince sent me to fetch you for dinner last night, but you were already fast asleep.” Genevieve said, hanging the chosen gown on a hook and then going back for matching shoes.

“Yes, I was very…tired.” Marco couldn’t say it was because the bed was so comfortable. Star’s bed at home had to be at least this comfortable, so she would be used to this quality and not so easily seduced by the softness.

“The prince has made an itinerary for your day. He thought you might want a slow morning, so he ordered for your breakfast to be brought to your room.” She took a break from collecting clothes and crossed the room to a small table where a covered platter sat waiting. She lifted the lid and a tantalizing aroma made Marco’s stomach growl.

The platter contained eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, different jams, butter, potatoes, biscuits, a glass of water, a glass of juice and a steaming mug of either coffee or tea. Marco had never seen such a large breakfast prepared for just one person. Still, he was starving and didn’t hesitate to jump out of bed and cross to the steaming platter. The food was delicious after falling asleep without food the day before. He felt a little groggy after being so used to getting up early for practice and being up late patrolling the ground for so long. Falling asleep early and sleeping late was never a part of his routine.

He was so immersed in his food that he forgot the maid was there until she appeared beside him. Hopefully she hadn’t noticed how he’d been shoveling food into his mouth. That was definitely a thing princesses didn’t do. At least in front of others, that weren’t there best friend that is.

“If you’re finished with your meal, please allow me to assist you in getting dressed, milady.”

“That’s ok. I can dress myself.” He responded, not wanting a repeat of what happened before.

Her eyes opened wide. “Oh no, milady. We were all instructed to not allow you to lift a single finger.”

“Isn’t that a bit…much?”

“But you are the prince’s most precious bride.”

Marco fought the urge to roll his eyes. “How about, I dress myself and then you can help me with my hair?” This was the perfect compromise as Marco had yet to figure out how to tame Star’s long, wild tresses.

“But, the prince.”

“Will never know. I promise.”

Looking unconvinced, she quietly agreed and left the room. Marco let out a sigh and took a look at the poofy purple number that had been left out for him. He’d never get used to dresses. They left his legs feeling too exposed and made it hard to run away from enemies…or princes.

With eyes closed tight, he stripped off the old wrinkled dress and wrestled his way into the layers of chiffon and tulle. He did everything but button up the back as he couldn’t reach.

When the maid came back in, she buttoned up the dress and brushed out Star’s hair before putting it into a tight but bulky bun atop his head. It felt weird, but it was a huge improvement from having it down around his arms and getting in the way all day.

Once he was ready to go, Genevieve went over what Star’s itinerary for the day entailed. He had to meet the staff, tour the garden and meet with the wedding planner. He visibly cringed at the last task. If Star didn’t figure something out soon, he’d be stuck marrying the prince. Having the plan her wedding to him was already going to be torturous.

Marco once more cursed this stupid spell and begrudgingly followed Genevieve from his chambers to meet the rest of the staff. The group that assembled in the banquet hall was fairly large but seemed smaller compared to Star’s castle. Tom was the only royal resident of this castle so it made sense that he would need fewer servants. As they all took turns bowing or curtsying to him, he counted them.

12 maids, 4 cooks, 3 stable hands, 1 apothecary and his assistant, 2 armorers, 1 bailiff, 2 bakers, 1 blacksmith, 1 bottler, 1 butler, 1 bower, and about 30 guards and then several more he couldn’t keep track of. All in all his full staff was around 90 people. Marco wasn’t sure how he was to remember all of their names.

At home, he had to memorize faces so that he knew if the person approaching the princess was someone unknown, but he didn’t know many names at all. After they all finished introducing themselves, they all looked to him expectantly.

“Um…” he cleared his throat. “It’s nice to meet you all…thanks you for the warm welcome.” Marco turned to Genevieve and she seemed pleased with his words. He had not been prepared to make a speech of any length.

They all continued to stare and he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do now. He almost bowed but 1, he should curtsy not bow, and 2, princesses didn’t curtsy to those so far below their station. Ok, maybe he had actually remembered some of the rants Star had given after her lessons.

He felt strange having to look at them with Star’s eyes. As a knight, these people were always at the same level as him. They all contributed to the castle and kept the royal family safe, healthy, and happy. Now, they were looking up to him and it felt gross. He wondered if Star ever felt this way.

Marco looked back to Genevieve as the staff continued to watch him expectantly. He didn’t know what else to say to them. He hadn’t been taught like Star had. He was making her look bad.

“They’re waiting for you to dismiss them.” She said.

“Oh…you may…carry on with your day.” He didn’t know if that was the right thing to say but they all began to disperse so it had to be somewhat right.

Genevieve told him it was ok that he (she) froze as it was a new environment with all new faces. Marco was grateful for the comfort as she led him from the banquet hall and toward a service door. He didn’t think royalty usually entered or exited through service doors, but he also knew Star wouldn’t have cared, so he said nothing.

Outside was a small courtyard with a few old wood benches. It smelled strongly of tobacco and was littered with cards and makeshift games.

“This is where the staff take breaks when the weather is nice.” Genevieve explained as they walked through.

Marco thought of his home. The staff had their private areas but not a courtyard to themselves where they could smoke or play cards. He had to give Tom credit for giving them the area to relax and enjoy the sun.

Next, they went through a gate that opened onto a large plot of land that remained untouched but well maintained. The breeze was unobscured and blew through the grass, rustling the skirts of their dresses around their ankles. Marco thought this would be a good spot for late night talks with Star when everything was back to normal.

They continued through the field until they came to a wooden fence encircling a large paddock. The stables stood within and the smell of horses wafted in the breeze. Marco knew how to ride, it was part of his training, but he didn’t get much occasion for it. He hoped that part of his time stuck as Star would include riding lessons.

As they approached the stable, two young men he recognized from before waved to Genevieve.

“Milady, this is Stefan and Lawrence. Their father runs the stable and they assist him.”

“Good afternoon your highness.” They both said as they quickly bowed.

“Good afternoon.” He responded, trying to get a look behind them at the horses.

“I’m taking the princess on a tour of the grounds and thought she would like to meet the horses.” Genevieve explained, taking a few steps toward the stable.

Lawrence stopped her with a hand on her arm before she entered. “The smell in there isn’t suitable for two ladies. We’ll bring them out into the paddock for you to meet.”

Before he could stop it, Marco ‘tsked’ and trolled his eyes. Not an entirely un-Star-like thing to do. All three turned to him. He froze for a moment, before channeling his best friend.

“Ladies are not incapable of surviving unpleasant smells. If we were, we would never marry.” He said, trying to sound confident.

Genevieve covered her mouth and turned her head to stifle a giggle. The men blushed and didn’t argue, stepping aside for the two to enter.

Inside were 10 stalls, each one occupied by a horse. He knew there would be a larger stable near the barracks with horses trained to ride into battle. These horses, however, were royal horses. They lead a pampered life and were only ridden for sport or entertainment. Marco put his hand out and the appaloosa in the first stall pressed its fuzzy muzzle against his palm. Its breath tickled as it exhaled heavily.

Marco couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t usually get to interact with horses, but he thought they were beautiful. He figured there was no room on his schedule to right that day, but he hoped to have it added in the coming days.

\--------

Star had never walked to far in her entire life, but she didn’t care. She was too excited to be going into town. Alone. With a cute boy. Without supervision! This was like one of her many dreams come true. How could she possibly wish to go back to her old life?

Star still didn’t know the man’s name, but he strummed his lute and hummed while they walked, and it was enchanting. She did wish she was in her own body so he’d fall for her, but that could come later. After she found a way out of her engagement so she could wish to be herself again.

She needed to think of a way out of his mess, but at the moment she was enjoying herself too much. The scenery was so beautiful when it wasn’t rushing by outside a carriage window. As she walked, she realized she was walking like a princess. Chin high, back straight, shoulders back. If she’d had a skirt on, she’d be holding it up away from her feet. She was also glad she hadn’t clasped his hands in front of her like she was taught. That would not look good for Marco. She tried to relax but had never paid attention to how Marco walked.

As they reached the edge of town, she forgot about her walking and instead focused on what she could see. People, tons of people. They were positively everywhere! No one stopped and stared, no one bowed or curtsied, they just totally ignored her! It was fantastic.

Shops liked either side of the street. Outside stands had clerks that shouted out their goods and prices. People haggled and argued. It was all so normal, and she loved it!

She nearly jumped when the man put his hand on her arm to draw her attention to a stand selling instruments.

“There it is. The lute I told you about.”

Star followed his pointed finger to a lute made of dark wood with an intricate painting surrounding the cavity opening on the face. The finish was glossy, so much so that she could see her (or Marco’s) reflection in it. The man’s eyes sparkled as he stared at the instrument.

A large, burly man with a long graying beard finished helping the customer he was occupied with and wandered over to them.

“Back again I see. Are you going to buy this time?” He asked.

“You know I don’t have that kind of money.” He responded, his expression falling into one of disappointment.

“Finally realizing that being a traveling minstrel isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?”

“It’s all I wanted and more, Anthony. I may not have money for everything I want, but I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else.” He hugged his old beaten up lute to his chest and smiled.

Anthony rolled his eyes. “You’ll never find a wife living a life like that Oskar.”

Star thought that she would gladly be his…well…maybe not wife. Not right away anyway. They’d just met, and he didn’t even know it yet. Wait…did he say…

“Oskar?” Star said out loud. The beautiful man turned to look at her. She hadn’t meant to say his name outside her head. “Uh…maybe…maybe I could help you pay for the lute?”

Oskar smiled. “Thanks Marco, but it’s too expensive. I know you don’t make a lot either as a knight.”

Right. She was Marco. He didn’t have riches at his disposal like she did. “I mean, I think I could ask Star for a loan.”

“Why would she buy something for your friend she’s never met?”

“Because…she’s really nice?” She said, wishing could say that she knew she would because she was standing right in front of him!

“I don’t know. I thought you said she was too self-centered.” Oskar said, turning his gaze back to the beautiful lute.

That felt like a punch to the gut. Marco told him she was self-centered? What else had he said about her? Here she was falling for Oskar, and he had a bad opinion of her because of things her best friend said about her. Was he even really her best friend? Here he was having friendships she didn’t know about and talking badly about her behind her back to these strangers!

Holding in the emotions that dared to boil over, she cleared his throat and spoke. “Not…not always.”

Oskar had given one last look to the lute before leading Star away from the stall.

“From the stories you’ve told me it sure sounds like she is.” Oskar said, slowly walking amongst the crowd.

“I can’t remember everything I’ve told you.”

“Well, you know, how she only cares about her engagement and her problems. She never even lets you get a word in about your problems. She still doesn’t know about your heartbreak, does she?”

Heartbreak? Star had never even heard him talk about a love interest. “No. She doesn’t.” She said, mater-o-fact.

“I know you tried to tell her, but I guess she never listened.”

“I guess not.”

Star bit her tongue as she felt like she could cry. How could Marco keep secrets from her? She would have listened if he’d tried to tell her. Wouldn’t she?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've mentioned before that I'm in cosmetology school and the closer I get to graduation, the more it's kicking my butt. I'm also working on an honors program that is pretty stressful and is taking up a great deal of time an energy. I have been jotting down bits of chapters in a notebook I keep with me when I have downtime. Most of this chapter was hand written on a my lunch break actually. So I am continuously working on it but then the space bar on my laptop stopped working correctly and when I'm copying words from notebook to computer I don't look at the screen/keyboard so it's annoying when I've typed out all this stuff and there are like 5 spaces in an entire paragraph. I've got my desktop up and running now so I'm working on here for the time being. So, basically, it shouldn't take me quite so long for the next chapter to come out but I'm still very busy until April/May when I graduate and go to state board to take my licensing exam so don't expect me to go back to old update habits quite yet. I'm also working on opening up a patreon were you can see chapters a full week before they go up here plus NSFW content that won't be published anywhere else. I'll post about that here when the time comes and on my twitter which is just Nova_Butterfly (the L is actually a capital i fyi). If you read all this, bless you and thank you for being patience with me!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> READ ME PLEASE!!!! My Patreon in now live!!!! If you want to read the next chapter two weeks before it's posted here, you can do so now! I don't think it will allow me to post a link here, but my name over there is Nova Lucitor and the icon picture is a drawing with pink hair and a Voltron t-shirt! https://www.patreon.com/NovaLucitor

A rock garden, the edge of the wood and nearby clearing in the tress, groves of fruit that smelled sweet, another garden filled with statues of strange creatures. All of this and more took up Marco’s afternoon and he was glad he hadn’t been made to wear heels again.

Genevieve lead Marco to a garden full of flowers, bright green plants with large leaves, and tall trees with beautiful flowers of different colors. Marco thought Star would really like it here. She often escaped to the garden below her bedroom window. She would tell Marco how she hid a rope ladder beneath her bed and would climb down late at night when she couldn’t sleep. She’d lay amongst the flowers and watch clouds pass over the star filled sky. She’d told him once that she dreams of using this chance to run away. Marco always told her that running wouldn’t do any good as her parents would never stop looking for her. Neither would he.

Still, he wondered if Star would escape to this garden when she didn’t want to be around Tom. Of course, that would probably be more often than not. Marco actually thought that this would be a nice place for him to escape to.

Genevieve stared at him as he took in the flora. She seemed overly happy suddenly as if she were hiding an exciting secret. Looking up at the canopy of flowers the trees provided, it dawned on him that this must be where Tom intended to hold their wedding ceremony. There was a wide-open spot just before the fountain where plenty of chairs could be placed. His stomach sank. He now knew why Genevieve seemed so excited.

Approaching voices only made the feeling of dread grow stronger. One voice was easily identified as Tom, the other was female but unfamiliar. Marco looked for an escape route as they grew closer but found none. They rounded the corner into the garden and Marco felt cornered. Tom turned to him and smiled.

“Charlotte, this is my beautiful bride to be, Star.” Tom beamed and for a moment Marco felt pity for him. “Star, this is our wedding planner, Charlotte.”

Marco wanted to scream in frustration. He shouldn’t be here doing this. He didn’t know the first thing about weddings. He didn’t even think he’d ever marry so it never even crossed his mind what a wedding should be like. Star didn’t want this either, so how was he supposed to know what she would want?

He was made to sit at a garden table near the fountain where swatch books were all but shoved in his face. His eyes widened as he looked at all the color and pattern choices. And this was just table clothes!

“Your majesties, this is the best most important day of your lives. We can’t let one single detail slip past us as we make this day as magical for your guests as it will be for you.” Charlotte said, enthusiastically.

“I like this purple pattern here. What do you think, Star?” Tom asked, pointing to a royal purple fabric with flowers embroidered in gold.

“It’s…nice.” He said. Did Star like purple? Would she even care if the table clothes were purple?

“Oh yes, that is one of my most expensive patterns. The gold flowers are spun from real gold before being magically embroidered onto the satin.” Charlotte explained, plopping another book down.

Marco thought this was all ridiculous. They spent the next two hours discussing flowers, chairs, velvet runners, outfits for the maids and butlers that would be serving food and drinks. The ceremony would be held outside in the garden, the reception would be held inside the banquet hall. Every guest of importance would be announced as they entered. Star and Tom would enter hand in hand and sit beside each other at the head of the table. After dinner they would have their first dance to a song that would be chosen later. Every single detail was drilled into Marco’s brain and he was repeatedly asked his opinion on everything and he found it easier to just agree with them as they seemed crazy.

Finally, Charlotte gathered her books into her seemingly magic bag that should not have been able to hold all of that. She rushed off to ruin someone else’s day, or night as Marco realized the sun was rapidly setting. He suddenly felt very tired and considered skipping dinner again so he could go to sleep. He was almost still full from his large breakfast.

Tom stood and turned to Marco with a grin. “Now that we’ve got some of the simple things out of the way, the next meeting should go much smoother.”

Marco inwardly groaned. How could any of that be considered simple? Hopefully he’d be back in his own body before the next meeting with Charlotte happened.

“I’m sure you’re hungry. Genevieve will escort you to put on your dinner dress and I will meet you shortly so we can eat together.” Tom said, turning and leaving the garden.

“Great.” Marco said sarcastically. He definitely didn’t want to spend dinner sitting in awkward silence but this was his life for now.

“Oh, milady, you must be so excited!” Genevieve said as she approached.

“Sure. Very excited.” He said, standing and following her back out of the garden and toward the castle.

“Are you alright, milady?” She asked, concern in her voice.

Marco wished he could tell her everything but knew it would do no good. If anything, she would think he was lying or that he’d gone crazy. If word got back to Star’s mom that anything bad had happened, she’d surely come to the Kingdom of Fire and Marco was definitely too afraid of her for that.

Genevieve laird out a sleeveless dark blue dress with white trim for Marco to change in to. She undid the buttons on the dress he was wearing and then left him to change on his own as he asked. Marco had never known that Star changed outfits just to eat dinner. He’d never paid much attention to her clothing at all. He sighed as he squeezed his eyes shut and traded one dress for the other. Using the bathroom was already awkward enough, he didn’t need to see his best friend naked too. He dreaded having to bathe.

Once he was dressed, he begrudgingly slipped on the matching heels and stumbled a bit as he did. He would never get used to these things. When Genevieve came back into the room, she, to Marco’s displeasure, let Star’s hair out of the bun so it could fall free. She placed a silver clip on either side to hold it back out of his face but it still felt uncomfortable.

She led him back down the stairs but they didn’t go to the banquet hall or the smaller dining room. Instead she led him back out to the garden, which had been lit up and decorated in the short time he was gone. The small table had a white table cloth cover it now and small round cushions sat on the chairs. A candle sat in the center of the table with two covered platters, one in front of each chair.

Tom, who was already seated, stood to pull out the other chair. Marco sat but inside he was wishing he could run. Tom wasn’t bad looking and he really did try his best. He loved Star. That much was clear. The only issue Marco had with him was because Tom hated him for being close to Star. He’d never say it out loud, but he thought Star was too hard on him. Still, he wished he wasn’t in her place. Maybe if she saw all the thought he put into their wedding and the fact that he put her favorite color all over her room. Even this romantic dinner her arranged for her. Maybe she’d change her mind about him.

“I wanted to do this yesterday but I know you were tired from our journey. Better late than never.” He grinned.

“It’s very…nice.” Marco responded, looking up at the stringed lights hanging from the trees.

“You…like it?” Tom asked.

“Of course. It’s pretty.”

“I thought you’d hate it.”

“Then why did you do it?”

Tom cleared his throat and looked away. Marco immediately regretted asking the question and wished he could take it back.

“Every time I try to impress you, you don’t seem interested or appear dissatisfied.”

Yep, that was Star. Forever judgmental of the man she was being forced to marry. In different circumstances maybe she would have liked him. As a friend at least.

“I’m sorry.” Marco knew the second those words came out of his mouth he’d made a huge mistake. Star would not have apologized to Tom for anything.

“You don’t seem quite yourself today.” Tom said, unable to hide his shock or his smile.

“I guess I’m not really.” Not a lie, and what else was he meant to say to that?

Tom took a bite of his food and looked as if he was seriously considering his next words. This made Marco nervous. The last thing he needed was a love confession.

“I know I pretend that I don’t notice, but it’s clear that you don’t like me. What have I done to make you hate me?”

Ouch. Marco suddenly saw Tom differently, for at least a moment, and he felt for him. If only Star could be here with him instead. Maybe they could have an honest conversation and make a decision for themselves about where they’re relationship would go.

“I just…don’t want to marry someone because my parents want me to.” Marco channeled words Star had spoken time and time again. “We were engaged the second I was born. My whole life has been controlled and now I can’t even choose who I get to marry. I don’t hate you, I hate the circumstances.”

Tom seemed surprised by the honesty and at a loss for words. Marco hoped he hadn’t gone to far, but at the same time he was desperate to help his friend get out of this marriage so things could go back to normal.

“Do you even love me?” Marco asked.

“I…we’re going to be married.”

“Yes, but do you love me?”

“Of course.”

“Why? Because our parents told you that you have to?”

He didn’t have an answer for that and seemed to be getting upset. Marco really wasn’t looking for an argument, but then again, Star would have been ready for a fight.

“Who would you marry instead? That knight that’s always hovering around you?”

It was Marco’s turn to be surprised. He’d always known that Tom thought Marco wanted Star, but he never assumed that he believed Star wanted Marco as well. It was honestly extremely annoying that he would think there was more to their relationship after all this time.

“No. Marco is my best friend. He’s more like a brother.”

“But he’s NOT your brother.”

“No but…he’s…” Marco choked on his words. A secret that would end the conversation sat on the tip of his tongue. A secret he’d never even told Star.

“He’s what?”

“Marco and I could never be together because he’s gay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to look up Nova Lucitor on Patreon if you want to read chapter 9 right now instead of waiting two weeks!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo I just realized this was supposed to go up last Saturday and I set my reminder for the wrong day. Sorry about that. However,did you know you could have read this chapter three weeks ago on my patreon? patreon.com/NovaLucitor there's also an nsfw short that takes place as a flash back between chapter 9 and 10 that will soon be available exclusively on patreon

Star sat on Marco’s bed, staring down at her feet. She never thought Marco kept secrets from her but now she was finding out about mystery friends who he’d complained about her to. She always listened when Marco talked about his life, but for some reason he thought she only cared about her own problems. She’d had a stomach ache ever since she’d left Oskar.

Also, when had Marco gotten his heart broken? He’d never even said anything to her about liking someone. She honestly never even thought of his romantic affairs. Did that make her a bad friend? Is that why he hid things from her?

She scrubbed her hands over her face and wished she had never cast that stupid spell. If she could go back in time, she wouldn’t have even gone to the library in the first place. She’d have listened to Marco and just let things happen the way they were supposed to.

She stood abruptly and headed to the door. Maybe that was the answer to her problems. IF she could go back to that night, she could fix everything. She walked down the halls with confidence as she didn’t care if anyone saw her this time. Shew as hurt, angry and determined to try something besides hopeless wishes.

The library was dark and quiet as always. Star closed the door behind her and headed straight to the spell books. She stood at the end of the aisle and looked back and forth at all the books that lined the way.

“Glossaryck! We need to talk! Now!” She shouted.

Almost immediately, the purple book began to glow and floated off the shelf. It stopped in front of her and Glossaryck rose out of it. He didn’t look happy to see her.

“Hello again, Princess.” He said, not look at her.

“I need a spell.”

“Another one? So soon? Life as a knight is not living up to your expectations?”

“Marco thinks I’m selfish and self-absorbed so I’m going to fix this now.”

“Have you finally come to terms with your own life?”

“No. I need a time travel spell.”

“Hm.” Was all he said in response.

“Is there such a spell?”

“Yes.”

“So, I can have it?”

“No.”

“Why not?” Star’s anger was reaching a boiling point. Why did he always have to be so difficult?

“Traveling back in time will make things worse, not better.”

“But I can stop myself from making the wish and casting the spell!”

“No matter what you do, you cannot change fate.”

“What? But…when I cast this spell you said it would change my fate!”

“Did I?”

Star was positively fuming. All of this happened because he told her she could change her fate and become a knight. First it back fired and forced them to switch bodies, then Glossaryck tells her that it was all for nothing. This was all so she could get control of her own life, not trade hers for Marcos! What more could go wrong?

Star left the library, angry but also feeling defeated. If he wouldn’t give her another spell, then there was still only one way to fix everything. She had to force herself to want that life for herself. She felt miserable as she walked back through the hallways and out into the courtyard that would lead her back to Marco’s home.

Star had never once been attacked while wondering the halls at night or sneaking out into the garden, and as far as she knew, neither had Marco. When a set of hand reached out and grabbed her, her first instinct was to scream, but she managed to stifle it and instead just gasped as she was pulled into the shadows and her back was pushed against a cold stone pillar.

Star winced and when she opened her eyes, she saw the face of one of the other knights. He wasn’t the one she’d punched, but he had been one of the ones laughing at her. Or…they were laughing at Marco really. So what now? They caught him all alone at night and were going to get revenge? She looked both ways but there wasn’t anyone else there.

“You know you broke his nose.” He said.

“What?” Star asked.

“When you punched Duke, you broke his nose.”

“Why should I care?”

“I know they bug you and are always talking about you, but how could you lose your cool like that? What’s going on with you?”

Star took a minute to take in the look of concern on his face, the way his hands were holding Marco’s shoulders and the tone of his voice. Was this another secret friend?

“I…I’m just not myself right now.”

“Clearly.” He let her go and stepped back a step. “Is this about us?”

“Um…no…?”

“I told you before, it was fun while it lasted but I can’t risk being caught again.”

“I…ok.”

“You hate me now, don’t you?”

Star was beyond confused. She didn’t know how to answer, so she didn’t. The man sighed.

“My feelings haven’t changed. If things were different then…I mean, maybe if that minstrel hadn’t seen us then everything would be ok.”

“Oskar?”

“You know he saw us. He hasn’t said anything has he? Because if I have to threaten him…”

“He hasn’t said anything to anyone, trust me.” Though she wished he had so she would have some idea of what was going on.

“Good.” He looked down at his feet, then back to Marco. He almost seemed sad. “I’m sorry, ok? You know I’m weak. So…this is the last time we can meet. For real this time.”

Star was going to answer but before she could, the other knight stepped forward and cupped her face in his hands before leaning in and kissing her. Star froze. For a moment she wondered why he would think it was ok to kiss a princess. Then she realized, she was Marco. He was kissing Marco. And this wasn’t the first time. Suddenly, everything clicked.

\---

Marco didn’t want to get out of bed. Genevieve moved around the room and hummed a jovial tune as she prepared his clothes of the day. Outside it was raining, the perfect weather for his less than cheery mood. His conversation with Tom from the night before still plagued his mind. How could he have spilled his secret so carelessly?

“Marco and I could never be together because he’s gay.” He’d said, regretting the words as soon as they were said.

“What?” Tom asked, completely taken off guard.

“He would never have feeling for me because I’m a woman.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. He’s recently been in a relationship with another man.”

“If he doesn’t want you for his own, then why does he hate me?”

“He doesn’t hate you. He thinks you hate him.”

“Well I…I do. Or, I did. But only because I thought he wanted you. I thought you two were in love.”

“Now you know we aren’t.”

After that, dinner was quiet. There had only been two people who knew the truth before his impromptu confession. That had been the man he’d been seeing in secret, and his friend Oskar, who only knew because he’d caught them together. Star didn’t even know the truth, but now Tom thought she did. So if they switched back before he could talk to Star, Tom would tell her.

Her sat up in bed, surprising Genevieve.

“Good morning milady.” She smiled.

“Good morning. What is my itinerary for the day like?”

“After breakfast, I thought you’d like some time to read in the library. Then we’ll move on to your meeting with the dress maker to discuss your wedding dress. After lunch we’ll taste cakes made by the baker. The rest of the afternoon we be spent-.”

“Do you think we can postpone reading for a little while?” Marco interrupted to ask.

“Of course. May I ask why?”

“I need to speak with the prince and it cannot wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to keep an eye out for chapter 10 on patreon 2 weeks before it's posted here as well as the nsfw short exclusive to my patreon. patreon.com/NovaLucitor


	10. Bonus story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bonus flashback chapter that takes place before the start of the story. There is an unedited version up on my patreon with a full sex scene included. Link is below

**[Read the full chapter with full sex scene on Patreon!](https://www.patreon.com/NovaLucitor) **  


**  
**

Change of Fate – First Extra

 

The day that Star would leave the Kingdom of the Moon to be married was rapidly approaching. Marco wasn’t sad as he intended to follow. When he left for the ceremony, he’d also be leaving his home as well. Star had requested months before that he move with her and he couldn’t imagine his life without his best friend by his side, so he agreed. However, he hadn’t been able to tell everyone yet that he was leaving.

Oskar knew. He was the first one he’d talked to about it. When he’d asked Star to let him think about the decision, he’d immediately confided in his other friend for advice. Oskar had made him feel better about his decision to leave. He was always so laid back about everything. Marco thought it would be nice to switch spots with him for a day.

When he’d told his parents, they’d been sad and his dad wasn’t sure about losing one of his best knights, but they knew they couldn’t change his mind. Star had been ecstatic when he’d told her, though she was still plotting to stop the move and marriage all together.

The only person he still needed to tell was Owen.

Marco had been training to be a knight since he was very young. When he was fifteen, he was finally permitted to join the knight guard. He’d spent years watching training with Star in secret and practicing what he saw in his spare time. Star still watched from the shadows when she could sneak away, but now he was a part of it all.

Owen had enlisted two years later when they were seventeen. For the first year, they didn’t talk. The rest of the knight guard had ignored Marco and talked about him behind his back. They thought nepotism was a given between Marco and his dad. If only they knew how hard he was pushed outside of training to be the best. He ran drills by himself late at night. Star would pretend to be in danger and Marco would rush to save her, fighting off training dummies she’d spelled to move around. They didn’t fight back but they did move erratically and unpredictably. It was all of this extra training that made him stronger and more agile.

Still, the others didn’t know about that and hated him for the praise he received. It didn’t help that his best friend was princess of the kingdom, one day to be queen. They believed that Marco had been given the role of right-hand knight and her protector because of their friendship. It’s true that Star had requested him, but he would not have won the spot had he not impressed his father and her parents in the trials they held for every enlisted knight.

Marco had no friends on the guard until a fateful night, when Marco had been caught training. Star had been caught sneaking out, so he was left to train alone. He set up the training dummies in an obstacle course of sorts. It wasn’t as helpful when they didn’t move, but it was still worth doing. He was so distracted by his movements and trying to get to the other side, that he didn’t even notice he was being watched.

Once he emerged from the other side, tired, sweaty and breathless, he heard the clapping. He looked in the direction the sound came from and there was Owen. Marco wasn’t sure if he was genuinely clapping for his performance or doing so sarcastically. Owen approached and Marco prepared to defend himself if necessary.

“So, this is where you are every night.” He said, seeming friendly.

“Where else would I be?” Marco asked, sheathing his sword and pushing his sweaty bangs from his face.

“Every night we play card games and drink at a local pub. You haven’t come once since I joined the guard.”

“I haven’t exactly been invited.”

“Yea, I thought that might be the case.” Owen looked away, looking embarrassed. “The others don’t seem to like you.”

Marco shrugged. He really didn’t care at this point. It had been nearly three years and he had always been ignored and looked down upon.

“Anyway…I thought maybe you were hanging out with the princess while we were out drinking. That must be cool. Being best friends with a princess, I mean.”

“It’s no different than being friends with anyone else.”

“But doesn’t she like, order you around and buy you expensive things?”

“No and I wouldn’t ask her for anything.”

“Not even on your birthday?”

“On my birthday she takes a day off from classes and I’m excused from training. We spend the day together and she tries to bake a cake.”

“Oh…then are you two…together?”

Marco almost laughed. “No. She’s more like my sister at this point. We grew up together.”

Owen nodded and the air fell silent between them. Marco felt awkward, unsure of what his intentions were. Trying to ignore it, he began cleaning up the practice dummies. He was surprised when Owen rushed to help.

“So, do you train by yourself every night?” He asked as they moved the dummies back where they belonged.

“Pretty much.”

“Everyone else keeps telling me you slack off, but I’ve never seen it. And now I find out you train like this by yourself! Why don’t you just tell them about all of this?”

Marco scoffed and rolled his eyes. “What good would it do? They’d just accuse me of lying. They need someone to hate, let it be me. I don’t care. As long as we’re a team in a battle, it doesn’t matter.”

“Would they come together in a battle though? I’m not so sure.”

“They would. They have. I mean, it wasn’t really a battle. A few drunks were angry about some tax and were causing a disturbance in town. A group of us were sent to assess the situation. There’s no need to use force in such a situation and you know we’re not trained to draw our swords unless the person is armed. One of them had a dagger hidden in his boot. He drew it and grabbed me around the neck when my back was turned. The others immediately went into action and I believe they saved my life that night.” Marco sighed as he put the last training dummy away. “So, they can talk all they want during training because I know they have my back when necessary. Of course, it wouldn’t look good on them if the head of the guard went out for the routine call and came back wounded or dead.” He smiled grimly. He honestly didn’t even want to think about that, but it always came to mind when he talked about that night.

“Well, I think they protected you because you’re a knight, not because of who your dad is.”

Marco didn’t really want to answer. He barely knew this guy and he wasn’t willing to appear vulnerable in front of him. He gathered his things and quickly changed the subject.

“If you ever want extra training, I could use a sparing partner.” He said, as he began to walk away.

“Tomorrow?” Owen called after him.

“Sure.” Marco called over his shoulder as he left the training grounds and headed home.

The following night, Owen had shown up again with his gear, ready to train. Marco hadn’t expected him to actually show as he was obviously inebriated the night before. They spared for hours and Owen managed to get Marco to talk about himself some more. During the day they kept their distance, though that was Marco’s advice lest he be ostracized as well. Star had been watched closely ever since she was caught sneaking out. Every night Owen kept coming back. They’d train until they were exhausted and then talk until they were falling asleep and had to go to bed. It was a secret friendship as no one else knew of their nightly training sessions. As far as Star knew, it was still just Marco out there alone in the dark training.

After around a month of their nightly meetings, and after they’d come to know each other quite well, the other knights became impatient. It was at the end of training for the day when a few of the others confronted Owen.

“I was going to ask if you were coming drinking with us tonight, but I’m guessing the answer is no again.” Duke, one of the rudest and most obnoxious of them, said.

“Sorry. I have plans.” Owen responded, shrugging.

“Alright, enough already. Where are you sneaking off to every night?”

“I’ve…met someone?” Owen said, wincing seemingly at his own choice of words.

“You’ve got a girl?”

“Yes. That. I’ve met a girl. I spend my nights with her.”

The others seemed oddly impressed with this news. Marco rolled his eyes at the ridiculous lie.

“And you meet with her every night? She must be extremely loose.” One of the others laughed.

“No. I honestly don’t even know how she feels about me. I just like being with her.” Owen said, unembarrassed.

Marco, however, was embarrassed. Why would he admit something he didn’t have to? There was no girl, so why didn’t he lie and say he was getting some every night so the others would look up to him? Though Marco never understood why that was a thing that happened.

“Why don’t you just bring her to the pub so we can all meet her?” One of them nudged Owen’s side with his elbow as he spoke.

“No way. You’d all just try to steal her away. I want her to myself.”

With that, Marco left the training grounds, not wanting to here anymore. He’d thought for a while now that Owen was attractive, there was no denying that. He also was maybe developing feelings for him that he wasn’t ready to admit to. But what was that conversation about? Was he just lying or was he really talking about Marco?

It wasn’t something he wanted to think about. It would only make him nervous around Owen and if he didn’t have feelings for him, Marco certainly didn’t want him to know how he felt about him. He almost considered skipping their nightly training that night, so he didn’t have to face him.

Deciding that was the coward’s way out, he swallowed his pride and headed to the training grounds. It was already dark out, but Marco could still see the figure of someone up ahead. He took a deep breath and forced himself to continue on. Owen’s face lit up with a smile when he saw him.

“You’re late.” He said, faking anger.

“Sorry. I…was caught in a conversation with my dad.”

“Nothing serious I hope.”

“No, just a friendly discussion.”

They began to set up for a brief training course before sparing. Marco felt extremely awkward and didn’t know how to bring up the conversation organically. He didn’t even know if Own realized he’d overheard.

“So, uh…” Owen started as they were about to begin. “Sorry about earlier.”

“Earlier?” Marco played dumb though his heart had just leapt out of his chest.

“When I said you were a girl. I mean, I didn’t think it would upset you, but you said to keep all of this a secret so…”

Right. That’s why he’d said those things. “It doesn’t bother me. Tell them whatever you want. Though they’ll probably expect an update on how far you got with this fictitious girl.”

“I was hoping to have an update for them tomorrow.”

“What are you-?” Before Marco could finish the question, Owen leaned forward and kissed him.

Marco could have sworn his heart stopped for a full minute. After the kiss, he wasn’t sure what to say. He’d never been kissed before. He didn’t like girls and there had never been a guy that he liked enough to pursue. But now, he was the one being pursued, and he was dumbfounded.

“I don’t know if this was obvious before, but I’ve liked you for a while.” Owen said, his cheeks red with blush.

“Nope. Not obvious at all.” Marco said, still in shock.

“You…you do like guys, right? I mean, every time I mentioned girls you looked bored and you blushed every time I took my shirt off. I wasn’t wrong, was I?”

“Nope. You weren’t wrong. Just…um…didn’t realize I was that obvious.” Marco turned away, unable to catch his breath.

“So, you like me too right?”

This was it. He’d already admitted he liked guys but now he had to admit that he liked Owen. Though Owen had already admitted to liking him, so what could go wrong??

“Yes.” Marco said, still unable to turn to face him.

“Great!” Owen said, grabbing Marco by the shoulder and turning him to face him again. “Then training first, kissing after?” He asked.

Marco’s face was so hot with blush that he felt like he might pass out. He nodded his head and watched as Owen disappeared into the course they’d built. Marco barely made it through the course and when sparing, he kept making stupid mistakes. He was too distracted by what had happened and the way Owen looked at him made him nervous.

When they were done with their training routine, they cleaned up the course as they always did. It was after that, that they would always talk. Marco wasn’t sure his heart was prepared for what Owen had planned tonight. After the last training dummy was put away, Owen turned to Marco with a big grin.

Without skipping a beat, he closed the space between them and kissed Marco. He knew he shouldn’t feel shocked again, but he couldn’t help it. He closed his eyes to try and relax. He focused on the way Owen’s hands felt. One cupped his cheeks gently while the other snaked around to lay on the small of his back. His lips were soft and moist as they glided against Marco’s with every kiss.

Marco didn’t know what to do with his hands, so they awkwardly hung onto Owen’s arms. They continued this way until neither could breathe. They lay in the grass to catch their breaths and stared up at the stars in silence. Owen reached out and grabbed Marco’s hand in his.

Their relationship continued like this, though Marco became more comfortable, less awkward and more confident with their relationship. He began to initiate kisses and flirted relentlessly with each other when they were alone. Owen talked with the others about his “girlfriend”, making Marco leave the grounds blushing every time. The first time Owen had slipped his tongue into Marco’s mouth had been strange but now he loved it. The first time they’d jerked each other off had been awkward but wonderful at the same time.

Finding their relationship progressing physically, they thought it best to find a place indoors to meet after their private training so they wouldn’t be seen even in the dark. Just beyond the wall of the training grounds was a small building that used to be used by gardeners but had since been abandoned. Inside were old broken tools and dirt. They found a tarp that they laid over a mound of dirt where they could enjoy each other’s touch comfortably and privately.

Their first time had been unexpected. After training, as always, they headed to the old shed. Their kisses started innocent between exchanged words, but soon the talking stopped. Marco buried his hand in Owen’s hair as their tongues tangled together. He’d become so used to this, it was like breathing. Afterward, Owen collapsed beside Marco on the tarp.  


“That hurt more than I thought it would.” Marco said, staring at the ceiling and panting.

“Sorry. If I could use magic, I’d have made it painless. You may want to skip training tomorrow.” Owen said, reaching out and cupping Marco’s cheek in his hand, turning his face towards him.

“I’ll just tell my dad that I’m ill. I don’t think rigorous anal sex is something he’d accept as an excuse.”

Owen chuckled and leaned forward to kiss him. For the moment, the two of them were happy. As promised, Marco skipped training the next day. Every step he took caused uncomfortable friction in his ass that made him wince. All he wanted to do was lay in bed, on his stomach with a large bag of ice sitting on his posterior.

Their relationship continued without incident. They kept it a secret from everyone, only meeting in the night. When Star was able to help Marco train, Owen would keep his distance. Marco felt bad not telling her, but she didn’t even know he was gay, and she had enough on her mind with her engagement. Still, it was becoming hard to keep in a secret. Marco was in love and he wanted to talk about it.

Star sat in the grass beside Marco, ranting about a fight she had with her mother. This was a normal occurrence lately as Star did everything in her power to convince her parents to change their minds about her marriage.

“Ugh, it’s just so frustrating! I don’t want to go, why can’t she see that?” She growled, ripping a handful of grass from beneath her fingers. “I need a distraction. How was training today?”

“It was good. I…I’ve been distracted though.”

“You? About what?”

“I’ve just been wanting to tell you about something…I haven’t been sure how to bring it up though. It’s about…about love.”

“Love?” Star asked before standing abruptly. “Don’t tell me you’re going to try and sway me saying that he loves me because I’ve heard it all before! I just never thought I’d hear it from you.”

“No, Star, that’s not what I was going to-.”

“You know better than anyone how much I hate him. I don’t care if he loves me, I do not and will not ever love him.”

“I know Star.”

“Good. I have to get back before they realize I’m gone. I’ll try to sneak out again tomorrow. Night!” She dashed away back toward the castle and Marco was left alone in the grass.

He’d tried to tell her, he really had. Maybe it was for the best. They’d be leaving soon anyway and it’s not like Owen could go with them. He may never see him again at this rate and he hadn’t even told him about it yet.

The following night, Star didn’t meet Marco like she’d planned. Instead, Owen was the one to emerge from the shadows. He was smiling, until he saw the conflicted look on Marco’s face. Setting down his equipment, he made his way to his lover and cupped his face between his hands.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Nothing I…it’s nothing.” Marco lied.

“We’ve been together a long time now. I know when you’re upset and when you’re lying to me. Spill it.”

“I…tried to tell Star about us.”

“Oh. How did that go?”

“I couldn’t do it. She wouldn’t let me finish what I was saying.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get another chance. You two are almost always together. Until she leaves anyway.”

This was his chance and he immediately felt sick to his stomach.

“About that. Star asked me to come with her to the Kingdom of Fire and I…I said yes.” Marco couldn’t look at him, so he didn’t know what kind of face he was making.

“Oh. You mean, for good?”

“Looks that way.”

“Doesn’t she leave in a month?”

“Yes.”

“How long have you known?”

“A few weeks.”

Owen sighed and Marco finally looked at him. He seemed angry but also hurt.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” He asked, anger evident in his voice.

“I didn’t know how to.”

“So, I guess this is over then.”

“What? No.”

“But you’re leaving. It’s not like it’s close by either. It takes nearly an entire day to get there. What excuse can I give to go to the Kingdom of Fire that often?”

“I don’t know but I don’t want this to be over.”

The two fell into silence. It was ridiculous and Marco knew it. He was being selfish and unrealistic in his expectation of what their relationship could handle. They saw each other every morning during training and almost every night during their own private training. Suddenly ending that would surely cause them to splinter, but he didn’t want that.

“Can’t you tell her no?” Owen asked, sounding defeated.

“I can’t. She needs me.”

“I need you!”

“You have friends here! She doesn’t! I’m all she has. I can’t abandon her now when her life is being turned upside down.”

“She’s always going to come first, isn’t she?”

“I…” Marco didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry. I love you but she’s family.”

Owen sighed and Marco now saw the tears on his cheeks, barely visible in the moonlight. It made him want to cry himself, but he tried to hold it back.

“Please don’t leave.” He said, pulling Marco into a tight embrace.

“Maybe…maybe I can talk to Star about you coming too.” Marco said.

“Why would she allow that?”

“If I tell her about us…”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea now. Won’t everyone find out if she knows? If I go with you, people will become suspicious.”

Marco pulled himself out of the hug. “What does that matter? We won’t be here anymore anyway.”

“I know I just…ugh I don’t want to fight anymore. I just want to spend what little time we have left together.”

Marco felt sick to his stomach as a million thoughts filled his head. Owen couldn’t stand the idea of others knowing about them even if they weren’t there to witness it. He wanted Marco to give up his best friend for him, but he couldn’t wound his pride to be with Marco. It hurt and Marco wasn’t sure how to process that feeling.

He didn’t want to argue either, but he wanted to talk more about it. Before he got the chance to ask him why he was so embarrassed of him if they were in love, Owen grabbed him and kissed him hard. Marco’s back collided with the wall as Owen pinned his hands with his own. His tongue found its way into Marco’s mouth and his knee rose up between his legs to cause some friction. Marco moaned into the kiss, unable to ignore the growing arousal the other boy was causing as he began to grind down onto his knee.

The two were lost in the moment, seemingly forgetting the were outside. Unfortunately for them, this was a dire mistake. Usually no one came around this time of night besides the two of them and Star. The only other person known to walk the training grounds so late was traveling minstrel who had just returned from his latest trip to greet his friend. What Oskar had expected to see was Marco, sword in hand, practicing on training dummies. Instead he saw his friend against the wall, limbs tangled with another knight, kissing and moaning, lost in the moment.

Oskar attempted to sneak away without being heard, but he wasn’t known for his poise. When he turned to leave, he tripped and knocked over one of the training dummies, landing on top of it with a grunt. The two knights quickly broke apart and turned to the location of the disturbance. Marco immediately recognized Oskar and went to help him stand.

“Oskar, are you ok?” He asked, grabbing his arm and pulling him up off the dummy.

“Yea. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I was coming by to say hi.” Oskar said, straightening his clothes and retrieving his dropped lute.

“It’s alright. We were being careless.” Marco said, turning to Owen. Unfortunately, he found the rest of the grounds empty as Owen has fled.

The following night, Marco waited for Owen at the grounds, but he never came. The next night was the same and Marco was becoming angry. He’d practically destroyed a training dummy in his anger and made his decision to not wait any longer.

The next day, after training, Marco took a deep breath and marched over to Owen and his friends. They sneered when he approached them and made rude comments, but Marco didn’t hear them. His eyes were set on Owen.

“I need to speak with you.” Marco said, voice loud and clear.

“What for?” Owen asked, sounding disinterested.

Marco quickly searched his brain for an excuse. “I was asked by the princess to bring a knight that I trusted today for help. You’re better than nothing.” Marco said, with the same level of unfamiliarity Owen had shown him.

“Fine.” He responded, following Marco from the grounds.

The garden below Star’s window was usually secluded this time of day and Marco thought it a good a place as any to have a private conversation. They didn’t speak as they walked and Marco felt as if he were walking with a stranger, not his lover. When they arrived, he turned to him, anger apparent on his face.

“Are you avoiding me?” He asked.

“What?”

“You didn’t show up the last two nights.”

Owen looked away with a look Marco could only assume was guilt. “I…I can’t risk being seen again.”

“Why not?”

“The others will turn on me if they find out that I’m…I’m…”

“What? Dating a guy? Or dating me?”

“Both.”

Marco knew the answer, but he still felt like he’d been punched in the stomach when Owen admitted it. He didn’t want to cry, not now. He didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

“Fine. This is over then. In a month I’ll be going to the Kingdom of Fire anyway.” Marco said, turning to leaving.

“Wait, you’re still going?” Owen asked.

“Of course. I have nothing keeping me here…anymore.”

“But I love-.”

“Shut up! You don’t love me! If you did, you wouldn’t be embarrassed of me! Just…just stay away from me from now on.” Owen tried again to stop him, but Marco ignored him and powered on.

He didn’t know where to go. He knew he was going to cry, but where? If he went home, his mom would see him. He couldn’t go the shed, that would only make it worse. He couldn’t go to Star and risk her getting angry for not telling her in the first place.

For the moment at least, luck appeared to be on his side, and he rounded a corner and crashed right into Oskar. The two went to Oskar’s childhood home that had been left to him when his parents died. It was rarely used as Oskar traveled so often and it was perfect.

Marco had never cried in front of Oskar before, but he couldn’t control it anymore when they were finally alone. Oskar sat quietly while he cried, lazily plucking a sad tune while he waited for his friend to gain control of himself again.

“I’m sorry.” Marco hiccupped.

“No need to apologize. Let it out for as long as you need to.” Oskar responded.

“I just…I had nowhere else to go.”

“Why couldn’t you go to the princess?”

“Because…she can’t know why I’m crying.”

“Care you tell why? I’m here to listen.”

“Owen’s embarrassed for anyone to know about us, so I ended things. Star never knew I was seeing someone. She doesn’t even know I’m gay yet. If I went to her now, she’d only be angry.”

“Why didn’t you tell her?”

“I tried but she’s so focused on her own problems right now she didn’t hear me.”

“Hmmm.” Oskar said.

The fell silent again and Marco stayed until he was fine again. He thanked Oscar of hiding him and allowing him to talk about his problems. He still felt terrible, but he didn’t feel like he could cry anymore. In a month, he wouldn’t even have to see him again. From now until the day he left, Owen was just another knight on the guard.


End file.
